Suu Kyi to remain more 5 years under house arrest or prison...

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was charged Thursday with violating terms of her house arrest in a bizarre case involving an American man who swam across a lake to sneak into her home, her lawyer said.

Suu Kyi, whose latest detention period officially ends May 27, could face a prison term of up to five years if convicted, said lawyer Hla Myo Myint. The trial is scheduled to start Monday at a special court at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison, where she was arraigned Thursday.

The American man, who has been identified as 53-year-old John William Yettaw, was arrested last week for allegedly swimming across a lake to secretly enter Suu Kyi's home and staying there for two days. His motives remain unclear.

He was charged at Thursday's hearing with illegally entering a restricted zone, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and breaking immigration laws, which is punishable by up to one year behind bars, said the lawyer.

Human rights groups said they feared the trial would be used to justify another extension of Suu Kyi's yearslong detention despite international demands for her release.

In the past the junta — which regards the Nobel Peace laureate as the biggest threat to their rule — has found reasons to extend her periods of house arrest, which international jurors say is illegal even under Myanmar's own law.

Kyi Win, another lawyer for Suu Kyi, said the opposition leader did not invite the man to her home and quoted her as saying she told the man to leave. He said the incident was merely a breach of security in the lakeside area where authorities normally keep close watch over Suu Kyi and her household.

"Everyone is very angry with this wretched American. He is the cause of all these problems," Suu Kyi's lawyer Kyi Win told reporters. "He's a fool."

Myanmar authorities said they arrested Yettaw on May 6 after he swam back across the lake while returning from Suu Kyi's residence.

"He seemed to be in good spirits and in good health," said U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei, who was not present at the arraignment and said he did not immediately have additional details.

Earlier Thursday, armed police drove Suu Kyi and two women who live with her from their lakeside home to Insein Prison. The two women, who have lived with Suu Kyi since she was last detained in 2003, were also charged with the same offense, lawyers said.

"This is a non-bailable case but we will fight for bail," Hla Myo Myint told reporters outside the prison after Suu Kyi and Yettaw were charged.

Suu Kyi, 63, has already spent more than 13 of the last 19 years — including the past six — in detention without trial for her nonviolent promotion of democracy, despite international pressure for her release.

"This is the cunning plan of the regime to put Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in continuous detention beyond the six years allowed by the law they used to justify the detention of her," the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group opposed to military rule in Myanmar, said in a statement. Daw is a term of respect used for older women.

Suu Kyi has recently been ill, suffering from dehydration and low blood pressure. Her condition improved this week after a visit from a doctor who administered an intravenous drip, said Nyan Win, the spokesman of her National League for Democracy Party who is part of a team of three lawyers hoping to represent her.

"Please tell them (reporters) I am well," Kyi Win quoted Suu Kyi as saying. But he added: "I am very concerned about Suu Kyi's health, even though she said she is well."

A U.S. diplomat was allowed to visit Yettaw on Wednesday. Myanmar state television showed a still photo of Yettaw meeting with consular chief Colin Furst. A U.S. diplomat said the meeting lasted 30 minutes and that Yettaw said he had been treated well.

Myanmar's state-run newspapers reported last week that Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, swam on the night of May 3 to Suu Kyi's lakeside home and departed by swimming a longer 1 1/4-mile (2-kilometer) route on the night of May 5, before being arrested the next morning.

The report said his motive was under investigation.

There are no known previous cases of anyone sneaking into Suu Kyi's home, though an account earlier this week on a pro-government Web site said Yettaw admitted to making a similar secret visit late last year.

Extracted from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_myanmar_opposition_leader